The Human Resource Development Council received high praise from Burkina Faso’s Prime Minister who termed Mauritius as a “role model for Africa” and commended the public/private sector partnership in the promotion of training and human resource development in the country.

A delegation from the Human Resource Development Council, comprising HRDC Director Rajcoomar Auckloo, Research and Consultancy Manager Dr. Kaviraj Sukon and Finance Manager Raj Ragaven, represented Mauritius at the regional ADEA Innovation and Knowledge Fair held in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, from 11-17 February 2012.

Rajcoomar Auckloo explained that the fair served as platform for Mauritius to showcase the partnership between the public and private sectors in funding training programmes through the National Training Fund managed by the HRDC. In this context, Burkina Faso’s Prime Minister, Luc-Adolphe Tiao, said Mauritius should be a role model for Africa.

“HRDC has won high praise from Burkina Faso’s Prime Minister, who applauded the organisation’s policies and various training incentives to promote human resource development in Mauritius,” highlighted Mr. Auckloo. “Over 100 delegates visited the HRDC stand at the Fair. They have showed great appreciation of the public/private sector collaboration that exists in Mauritius and of HRDC’s commitment and continuous efforts to promote human resource development in the country,” he added.

During the event, the HRDC delegates were also interviewed by the media in Burkina Faso, including the Radiodiffusion Télévision du Burkina (RTB) radio station and the national television broadcasting station.

Moreover, Dr. Sukon served as a panelist at a forum organised under the theme, ‘Financing of Training Programmes’. He also chaired a session on ‘The Role of ICT in Education’.

The Innovation and Knowledge Fair was organised as part of the 2012 Association for the Development of Education in Africa (ADEA) Triennale. The event brought together more than 600 delegates from African countries, including some 10 ministers of Education as well as senior representatives from the government, bilateral and multilateral cooperation, development agencies, regional and sub-regional organisations, the private sector, non-governmental organisations and education researchers and professionals.

The overall objective of the Fair was to provide an opportunity for stakeholders engaged in the development of education and training in Africa to share innovative experiences and best practices in the area of education and training systems. Hence, participants were able to share knowledge on successful development activities on training and research in Africa to an array of stakeholders attending the Triennial in order to promote critical knowledge, skills and qualifications for sustainable development in Africa.